team-member

Michael Hill

N/A

N/A

Law Degree

Awards

Primary Practice Area

Employment & Labor

Language

English

About

Represents investors nationwide in securities arbitration pursuing recovery of lost investment dollars due to negligence and misdeeds of brokerage firms and brokers.  Secondarily represents brokers in employment, promissory note, and regulatory matters. Michael Hill’s securities industry expertise is rooted from his experience as a licensed stock broker and insurance agent and later as a brokerage executive.  As a brokerage executive, Mr. Hill served as Chief Compliance Officer for two publicly-traded broker-dealers, the last of which also as Chief Counsel.  The Chief Compliance Officer is a FINRA-mandated position with the responsibilities of enforcing industry rules and regulations and being overall responsible for broker and broker-dealer conduct in dealing with investors.  Though most brokers were compliant, Mr. Hill experienced and had to handle many instances when brokers had crossed the line and investors suffered financial loss, as a result.  As an attorney with that unique experience, Mr. Hill changed sides and now represents investors.  Mr. Hill, who focuses his practice in securities arbitration and litigation, received his bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY and his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center.  Mr. Hill is admitted to practice law in Florida, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, and arbitration nationwide and overseas, has extensive experience in securities arbitration, has handled many cases having served as an arbitrator, panel chairman, and as counsel and representative for brokerage firms.  Mr. Hill is also frequent guest speaker on securities arbitration at Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic and has served on several compliance and regulatory conference panels with FINRA and industry trade conventions.  Mr. Hill has held series 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 24, 53, 55 and 63 registrations, is a former Certified Financial Planner, a former Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, and received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Practices Areas

Employment and labor

Language

English

Contact

Menzer & Hill, PA7280 W Palmetto Park RdSuite 203Boca Raton, FL, 33433

Office: N/A

Website: N/A

Reviews

Paul
October 12, 2021

Recently, I retained the services of Menzer & Hill, PA for a case verses a large financial services company. Michael Hill believed I had justification and agreed to represent me. He requested an arbitration hearing through FINRA and it was granted. The arbitration was conducted via zoom with counsel from both sides and a single arbitrator. Mr. Hill went above and beyond researching, preparing and presenting my case. He kept in constant communication with me throughout the entire case. His attention to detail during the three-day arbitration was impressive. As a small investor, I did not think I had a chance against a large financial services corporation, but Mr. Hill won this case with facts and his expertise of the law. A satisfactory and sizable judgment was granted by the arbitrator. Without hesitation, I highly recommend Michael Hill of the securities law firm, Menzer & Hill, PA.

rich
October 10, 2016

my name is rich james. i was duped by a financial firm in boca raton in 2011 with promises that the money i had could be conservatively invested to match or exceed where i had previously kept the savings. this money manager knew i was physically disabled unable to generate any more income. the investments lost money month after month, i was flabbergasted looking at my monthly statements, my complaints were always answered in the same disingenuous way with promises that never materialized. it sickened me when i realized i was duped. i felt shame that i should have known better and taken action sooner. fast forward to 2013 when i felt i was ready to roll up my sleeves and sue this firm to recoup my losses. the florida bar referral service referred me to an attorney in west palm beach who claimed to have expertise in this area, well he didn't and was billing me over a prolonged period of time, by the hour, for abysmal results. now i had to extracate myself from this new nightmare: i called back the florida bar referral service with valid complaints about this referral's performance, they then referred me to michael hill. i had a free consultation with mr hill which comes with the fee paid to the florida bar referral service: mr hill listened to every word of my story then proceeded to tell me about his expertise in this financial area and how we could resolve it. this is exactly what happened: for a very affordable lat fee, mr hill saw to it that i recouped the full amount of the actual damages stated in my lawsuit. the additional bonus came when he related to me that i could contest the remaining balance i owed the previous attorney by supplying me with some ways to get info and help. this is exactly what i did on my own empowered by mr hill: i asked for a $3,000 reduction in the previous attorney's bill, he brought it to his management and they granted the full amount. they knew i was working with mr hill as he had requested records of what had been done thusfar on my case. this was resolved last year at this time. the reason i took so long to write this review was i knew i couldn't fully express how well mr hill helped me in an egregious situation. i will never be able to thank him enough. mr hill beyond your years of experience on both sides of financial arbitration cases, the humanity you brought to my case's circumstances will never be forgotten, your expertise and how you practice it is extraordinary in terms i can't fully express. i send you and yours the best thoughts and wishes always! :)

anonymous
October 30, 2015

It is my pleasure to write this recommendation for Michael Hill and Gary Menzer, attorneys at Menzer Hill. Michael and Gary represented our family in a complex multi defendant securities arbitration case. The nature of the case required specific and sophisticated knowledge of the securities industry that is rare in most attorneys. The attorneys at Menzer Hill had the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve a successful outcome. In addition, they were able to identify and recommend an outstanding expert witness and a mediator that also had the industry knowledge necessary to understand and navigate the complexities of the case. If I ever need a securities arbitration firm in the future, I will hire Menzer Hill.

anonymous
June 30, 2015

The number of credentials and years of experience a financial advisor has in no way describes that persons character and/or determines the amount of success they will have for you. My wife and I believed our financial adviser took advantage of us so we hired an attorney. That attorney claimed to have extensive experience successfully fighting the big investment firms to recover losses caused by their inexperienced and unethical advisors. Not only was he unqualified, he was unethical. Once he took our first (very large) retainer, it took us months to get ahold of him just to file our complaint. After he did, incorrectly, he wanted another (large) retainer to follow up and continue moving our case forward. Again, it took months to get a hold of him just to get answers. Each phone call with him was an argument. He even told us to do something that ended up costing us more money in the end. Frustrated and angry, we decided to look for another attorney. Skeptical Of searching the Internet for an attorney who specializes in securities law, we came across Menzer and Hill. We had a phone meeting and I sent them some information. After a review they said they could us. Their fee was only a percentage of what they recovered for us. In other words, you only pay us if we're successful. Michael Hill explained the arbitration process in detail, which was completely different then what the first attorney said. As we began to work with Michael, we began to feel confident in his knowledge and experience with securities law. When we had concerns, he educated us. When we had questions, he responded immediately. He gave us updates on the progress of our case. We gave him the information he asked for along the way and in the end he got us money back without us having to go thru a long, painful arbitration process. He made a difficult situation simple and easy for us. His office took care of everything My wife and I cannot thank Michael enough for helping us. If you were to ask us what charastic of Michaels we respected the most, we'd say his integrity. We cannot tell you to hire Menzer and Hill to help you with your problem but we can tell you we are happy that we did.

anonymous
February 10, 2015

I found the attorneys I worked with at Menzer & Hill to be very thorough and diligent. They explained everything to me and kept me informed every step of the way. I truly felt they represented my best interests and though they were able to resolve my matter to my complete satisfaction, i still would have recommended them to my closest friends and colleagues regardless of the outcome.

anonymous
March 13, 2013

Michael Hill of Menzer and Hill is a highly qualified securities attorney. He listened to my concerns and researched the "wrong doings" that I felt a broker had done to my account without my permission or my knowledge. He was thorough and clearly knew the law as it applied to my case. The firm was systematic in their approach to handling my problem and gave me options along the way. My past broker, who had "churned" my accounts, was also in the process of being sanctioned by FINRA during the time I was suing the brokerage firms that allowed this person to do these unapproved things to my accounts. The results Menzer and Hill obtained on my behalf were very satisfactory to me. My son is currently using them to pursue a similar situation. I whole heartedly recommend Michael Hill and have also referred two of my friends to their firm.

Paul
October 12, 2021

Recently, I retained the services of Menzer & Hill, PA for a case verses a large financial services company. Michael Hill believed I had justification and agreed to represent me. He requested an arbitration hearing through FINRA and it was granted. The arbitration was conducted via zoom with counsel from both sides and a single arbitrator. Mr. Hill went above and beyond researching, preparing and presenting my case. He kept in constant communication with me throughout the entire case. His attention to detail during the three-day arbitration was impressive. As a small investor, I did not think I had a chance against a large financial services corporation, but Mr. Hill won this case with facts and his expertise of the law. A satisfactory and sizable judgment was granted by the arbitrator. Without hesitation, I highly recommend Michael Hill of the securities law firm, Menzer & Hill, PA.

rich
October 10, 2016

my name is rich james. i was duped by a financial firm in boca raton in 2011 with promises that the money i had could be conservatively invested to match or exceed where i had previously kept the savings. this money manager knew i was physically disabled unable to generate any more income. the investments lost money month after month, i was flabbergasted looking at my monthly statements, my complaints were always answered in the same disingenuous way with promises that never materialized. it sickened me when i realized i was duped. i felt shame that i should have known better and taken action sooner. fast forward to 2013 when i felt i was ready to roll up my sleeves and sue this firm to recoup my losses. the florida bar referral service referred me to an attorney in west palm beach who claimed to have expertise in this area, well he didn't and was billing me over a prolonged period of time, by the hour, for abysmal results. now i had to extracate myself from this new nightmare: i called back the florida bar referral service with valid complaints about this referral's performance, they then referred me to michael hill. i had a free consultation with mr hill which comes with the fee paid to the florida bar referral service: mr hill listened to every word of my story then proceeded to tell me about his expertise in this financial area and how we could resolve it. this is exactly what happened: for a very affordable lat fee, mr hill saw to it that i recouped the full amount of the actual damages stated in my lawsuit. the additional bonus came when he related to me that i could contest the remaining balance i owed the previous attorney by supplying me with some ways to get info and help. this is exactly what i did on my own empowered by mr hill: i asked for a $3,000 reduction in the previous attorney's bill, he brought it to his management and they granted the full amount. they knew i was working with mr hill as he had requested records of what had been done thusfar on my case. this was resolved last year at this time. the reason i took so long to write this review was i knew i couldn't fully express how well mr hill helped me in an egregious situation. i will never be able to thank him enough. mr hill beyond your years of experience on both sides of financial arbitration cases, the humanity you brought to my case's circumstances will never be forgotten, your expertise and how you practice it is extraordinary in terms i can't fully express. i send you and yours the best thoughts and wishes always! :)

anonymous
October 30, 2015

It is my pleasure to write this recommendation for Michael Hill and Gary Menzer, attorneys at Menzer Hill. Michael and Gary represented our family in a complex multi defendant securities arbitration case. The nature of the case required specific and sophisticated knowledge of the securities industry that is rare in most attorneys. The attorneys at Menzer Hill had the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve a successful outcome. In addition, they were able to identify and recommend an outstanding expert witness and a mediator that also had the industry knowledge necessary to understand and navigate the complexities of the case. If I ever need a securities arbitration firm in the future, I will hire Menzer Hill.

anonymous
June 30, 2015

The number of credentials and years of experience a financial advisor has in no way describes that persons character and/or determines the amount of success they will have for you. My wife and I believed our financial adviser took advantage of us so we hired an attorney. That attorney claimed to have extensive experience successfully fighting the big investment firms to recover losses caused by their inexperienced and unethical advisors. Not only was he unqualified, he was unethical. Once he took our first (very large) retainer, it took us months to get ahold of him just to file our complaint. After he did, incorrectly, he wanted another (large) retainer to follow up and continue moving our case forward. Again, it took months to get a hold of him just to get answers. Each phone call with him was an argument. He even told us to do something that ended up costing us more money in the end. Frustrated and angry, we decided to look for another attorney. Skeptical Of searching the Internet for an attorney who specializes in securities law, we came across Menzer and Hill. We had a phone meeting and I sent them some information. After a review they said they could us. Their fee was only a percentage of what they recovered for us. In other words, you only pay us if we're successful. Michael Hill explained the arbitration process in detail, which was completely different then what the first attorney said. As we began to work with Michael, we began to feel confident in his knowledge and experience with securities law. When we had concerns, he educated us. When we had questions, he responded immediately. He gave us updates on the progress of our case. We gave him the information he asked for along the way and in the end he got us money back without us having to go thru a long, painful arbitration process. He made a difficult situation simple and easy for us. His office took care of everything My wife and I cannot thank Michael enough for helping us. If you were to ask us what charastic of Michaels we respected the most, we'd say his integrity. We cannot tell you to hire Menzer and Hill to help you with your problem but we can tell you we are happy that we did.

anonymous
February 10, 2015

I found the attorneys I worked with at Menzer & Hill to be very thorough and diligent. They explained everything to me and kept me informed every step of the way. I truly felt they represented my best interests and though they were able to resolve my matter to my complete satisfaction, i still would have recommended them to my closest friends and colleagues regardless of the outcome.

anonymous
March 13, 2013

Michael Hill of Menzer and Hill is a highly qualified securities attorney. He listened to my concerns and researched the "wrong doings" that I felt a broker had done to my account without my permission or my knowledge. He was thorough and clearly knew the law as it applied to my case. The firm was systematic in their approach to handling my problem and gave me options along the way. My past broker, who had "churned" my accounts, was also in the process of being sanctioned by FINRA during the time I was suing the brokerage firms that allowed this person to do these unapproved things to my accounts. The results Menzer and Hill obtained on my behalf were very satisfactory to me. My son is currently using them to pursue a similar situation. I whole heartedly recommend Michael Hill and have also referred two of my friends to their firm.

Paul
October 12, 2021

Recently, I retained the services of Menzer & Hill, PA for a case verses a large financial services company. Michael Hill believed I had justification and agreed to represent me. He requested an arbitration hearing through FINRA and it was granted. The arbitration was conducted via zoom with counsel from both sides and a single arbitrator. Mr. Hill went above and beyond researching, preparing and presenting my case. He kept in constant communication with me throughout the entire case. His attention to detail during the three-day arbitration was impressive. As a small investor, I did not think I had a chance against a large financial services corporation, but Mr. Hill won this case with facts and his expertise of the law. A satisfactory and sizable judgment was granted by the arbitrator. Without hesitation, I highly recommend Michael Hill of the securities law firm, Menzer & Hill, PA.

rich
October 10, 2016

my name is rich james. i was duped by a financial firm in boca raton in 2011 with promises that the money i had could be conservatively invested to match or exceed where i had previously kept the savings. this money manager knew i was physically disabled unable to generate any more income. the investments lost money month after month, i was flabbergasted looking at my monthly statements, my complaints were always answered in the same disingenuous way with promises that never materialized. it sickened me when i realized i was duped. i felt shame that i should have known better and taken action sooner. fast forward to 2013 when i felt i was ready to roll up my sleeves and sue this firm to recoup my losses. the florida bar referral service referred me to an attorney in west palm beach who claimed to have expertise in this area, well he didn't and was billing me over a prolonged period of time, by the hour, for abysmal results. now i had to extracate myself from this new nightmare: i called back the florida bar referral service with valid complaints about this referral's performance, they then referred me to michael hill. i had a free consultation with mr hill which comes with the fee paid to the florida bar referral service: mr hill listened to every word of my story then proceeded to tell me about his expertise in this financial area and how we could resolve it. this is exactly what happened: for a very affordable lat fee, mr hill saw to it that i recouped the full amount of the actual damages stated in my lawsuit. the additional bonus came when he related to me that i could contest the remaining balance i owed the previous attorney by supplying me with some ways to get info and help. this is exactly what i did on my own empowered by mr hill: i asked for a $3,000 reduction in the previous attorney's bill, he brought it to his management and they granted the full amount. they knew i was working with mr hill as he had requested records of what had been done thusfar on my case. this was resolved last year at this time. the reason i took so long to write this review was i knew i couldn't fully express how well mr hill helped me in an egregious situation. i will never be able to thank him enough. mr hill beyond your years of experience on both sides of financial arbitration cases, the humanity you brought to my case's circumstances will never be forgotten, your expertise and how you practice it is extraordinary in terms i can't fully express. i send you and yours the best thoughts and wishes always! :)

anonymous
October 30, 2015

It is my pleasure to write this recommendation for Michael Hill and Gary Menzer, attorneys at Menzer Hill. Michael and Gary represented our family in a complex multi defendant securities arbitration case. The nature of the case required specific and sophisticated knowledge of the securities industry that is rare in most attorneys. The attorneys at Menzer Hill had the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve a successful outcome. In addition, they were able to identify and recommend an outstanding expert witness and a mediator that also had the industry knowledge necessary to understand and navigate the complexities of the case. If I ever need a securities arbitration firm in the future, I will hire Menzer Hill.

anonymous
June 30, 2015

The number of credentials and years of experience a financial advisor has in no way describes that persons character and/or determines the amount of success they will have for you. My wife and I believed our financial adviser took advantage of us so we hired an attorney. That attorney claimed to have extensive experience successfully fighting the big investment firms to recover losses caused by their inexperienced and unethical advisors. Not only was he unqualified, he was unethical. Once he took our first (very large) retainer, it took us months to get ahold of him just to file our complaint. After he did, incorrectly, he wanted another (large) retainer to follow up and continue moving our case forward. Again, it took months to get a hold of him just to get answers. Each phone call with him was an argument. He even told us to do something that ended up costing us more money in the end. Frustrated and angry, we decided to look for another attorney. Skeptical Of searching the Internet for an attorney who specializes in securities law, we came across Menzer and Hill. We had a phone meeting and I sent them some information. After a review they said they could us. Their fee was only a percentage of what they recovered for us. In other words, you only pay us if we're successful. Michael Hill explained the arbitration process in detail, which was completely different then what the first attorney said. As we began to work with Michael, we began to feel confident in his knowledge and experience with securities law. When we had concerns, he educated us. When we had questions, he responded immediately. He gave us updates on the progress of our case. We gave him the information he asked for along the way and in the end he got us money back without us having to go thru a long, painful arbitration process. He made a difficult situation simple and easy for us. His office took care of everything My wife and I cannot thank Michael enough for helping us. If you were to ask us what charastic of Michaels we respected the most, we'd say his integrity. We cannot tell you to hire Menzer and Hill to help you with your problem but we can tell you we are happy that we did.

anonymous
February 10, 2015

I found the attorneys I worked with at Menzer & Hill to be very thorough and diligent. They explained everything to me and kept me informed every step of the way. I truly felt they represented my best interests and though they were able to resolve my matter to my complete satisfaction, i still would have recommended them to my closest friends and colleagues regardless of the outcome.

anonymous
March 13, 2013

Michael Hill of Menzer and Hill is a highly qualified securities attorney. He listened to my concerns and researched the "wrong doings" that I felt a broker had done to my account without my permission or my knowledge. He was thorough and clearly knew the law as it applied to my case. The firm was systematic in their approach to handling my problem and gave me options along the way. My past broker, who had "churned" my accounts, was also in the process of being sanctioned by FINRA during the time I was suing the brokerage firms that allowed this person to do these unapproved things to my accounts. The results Menzer and Hill obtained on my behalf were very satisfactory to me. My son is currently using them to pursue a similar situation. I whole heartedly recommend Michael Hill and have also referred two of my friends to their firm.

Paul
October 12, 2021

Recently, I retained the services of Menzer & Hill, PA for a case verses a large financial services company. Michael Hill believed I had justification and agreed to represent me. He requested an arbitration hearing through FINRA and it was granted. The arbitration was conducted via zoom with counsel from both sides and a single arbitrator. Mr. Hill went above and beyond researching, preparing and presenting my case. He kept in constant communication with me throughout the entire case. His attention to detail during the three-day arbitration was impressive. As a small investor, I did not think I had a chance against a large financial services corporation, but Mr. Hill won this case with facts and his expertise of the law. A satisfactory and sizable judgment was granted by the arbitrator. Without hesitation, I highly recommend Michael Hill of the securities law firm, Menzer & Hill, PA.

rich
October 10, 2016

my name is rich james. i was duped by a financial firm in boca raton in 2011 with promises that the money i had could be conservatively invested to match or exceed where i had previously kept the savings. this money manager knew i was physically disabled unable to generate any more income. the investments lost money month after month, i was flabbergasted looking at my monthly statements, my complaints were always answered in the same disingenuous way with promises that never materialized. it sickened me when i realized i was duped. i felt shame that i should have known better and taken action sooner. fast forward to 2013 when i felt i was ready to roll up my sleeves and sue this firm to recoup my losses. the florida bar referral service referred me to an attorney in west palm beach who claimed to have expertise in this area, well he didn't and was billing me over a prolonged period of time, by the hour, for abysmal results. now i had to extracate myself from this new nightmare: i called back the florida bar referral service with valid complaints about this referral's performance, they then referred me to michael hill. i had a free consultation with mr hill which comes with the fee paid to the florida bar referral service: mr hill listened to every word of my story then proceeded to tell me about his expertise in this financial area and how we could resolve it. this is exactly what happened: for a very affordable lat fee, mr hill saw to it that i recouped the full amount of the actual damages stated in my lawsuit. the additional bonus came when he related to me that i could contest the remaining balance i owed the previous attorney by supplying me with some ways to get info and help. this is exactly what i did on my own empowered by mr hill: i asked for a $3,000 reduction in the previous attorney's bill, he brought it to his management and they granted the full amount. they knew i was working with mr hill as he had requested records of what had been done thusfar on my case. this was resolved last year at this time. the reason i took so long to write this review was i knew i couldn't fully express how well mr hill helped me in an egregious situation. i will never be able to thank him enough. mr hill beyond your years of experience on both sides of financial arbitration cases, the humanity you brought to my case's circumstances will never be forgotten, your expertise and how you practice it is extraordinary in terms i can't fully express. i send you and yours the best thoughts and wishes always! :)

anonymous
October 30, 2015

It is my pleasure to write this recommendation for Michael Hill and Gary Menzer, attorneys at Menzer Hill. Michael and Gary represented our family in a complex multi defendant securities arbitration case. The nature of the case required specific and sophisticated knowledge of the securities industry that is rare in most attorneys. The attorneys at Menzer Hill had the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve a successful outcome. In addition, they were able to identify and recommend an outstanding expert witness and a mediator that also had the industry knowledge necessary to understand and navigate the complexities of the case. If I ever need a securities arbitration firm in the future, I will hire Menzer Hill.

anonymous
June 30, 2015

The number of credentials and years of experience a financial advisor has in no way describes that persons character and/or determines the amount of success they will have for you. My wife and I believed our financial adviser took advantage of us so we hired an attorney. That attorney claimed to have extensive experience successfully fighting the big investment firms to recover losses caused by their inexperienced and unethical advisors. Not only was he unqualified, he was unethical. Once he took our first (very large) retainer, it took us months to get ahold of him just to file our complaint. After he did, incorrectly, he wanted another (large) retainer to follow up and continue moving our case forward. Again, it took months to get a hold of him just to get answers. Each phone call with him was an argument. He even told us to do something that ended up costing us more money in the end. Frustrated and angry, we decided to look for another attorney. Skeptical Of searching the Internet for an attorney who specializes in securities law, we came across Menzer and Hill. We had a phone meeting and I sent them some information. After a review they said they could us. Their fee was only a percentage of what they recovered for us. In other words, you only pay us if we're successful. Michael Hill explained the arbitration process in detail, which was completely different then what the first attorney said. As we began to work with Michael, we began to feel confident in his knowledge and experience with securities law. When we had concerns, he educated us. When we had questions, he responded immediately. He gave us updates on the progress of our case. We gave him the information he asked for along the way and in the end he got us money back without us having to go thru a long, painful arbitration process. He made a difficult situation simple and easy for us. His office took care of everything My wife and I cannot thank Michael enough for helping us. If you were to ask us what charastic of Michaels we respected the most, we'd say his integrity. We cannot tell you to hire Menzer and Hill to help you with your problem but we can tell you we are happy that we did.

anonymous
February 10, 2015

I found the attorneys I worked with at Menzer & Hill to be very thorough and diligent. They explained everything to me and kept me informed every step of the way. I truly felt they represented my best interests and though they were able to resolve my matter to my complete satisfaction, i still would have recommended them to my closest friends and colleagues regardless of the outcome.

anonymous
March 13, 2013

Michael Hill of Menzer and Hill is a highly qualified securities attorney. He listened to my concerns and researched the "wrong doings" that I felt a broker had done to my account without my permission or my knowledge. He was thorough and clearly knew the law as it applied to my case. The firm was systematic in their approach to handling my problem and gave me options along the way. My past broker, who had "churned" my accounts, was also in the process of being sanctioned by FINRA during the time I was suing the brokerage firms that allowed this person to do these unapproved things to my accounts. The results Menzer and Hill obtained on my behalf were very satisfactory to me. My son is currently using them to pursue a similar situation. I whole heartedly recommend Michael Hill and have also referred two of my friends to their firm.